UK Business Secretary calls for tax crackdown

British Business Secretary Vince Cable has said the government needs to “beef up” its capacity to deal with the systematic tax abuse in the multinational sector, where little or no tax is paid despite huge earnings.
Cable said the tax authorities need to be tough and take appropriate action against tax avoidance by big firms.
“It’s completely unacceptable where there’s systematic abuse taking place,” Cable said in an interview with the BBC.
“You would need some pretty intensive investigation by the Inland Revenue to find what’s going on. You’ve got to have a combination of action at an international level, which the chancellor is pursuing with other governments that are just as angry as we are,” he added.
The Business Secretary’s comments came after well-known multinationals Starbucks, Amazon, and Google faced grillings by MPs last week over tax avoidance.
Clearer rules on taxation are needed as public anger is growing over large companies minimizing tax bills at the time when Britain is facing its biggest budget cuts since World War II.
MOS/AMR/HE